Tennis

Tennis Splits Action on Day 2 in Florida; Bests Scranton, 8-1

ORLANDO, Fla. – Powered by a dominant effort across the lineup, the Mount Holyoke College tennis team defeated the University of Scranton, 8-1 in spring trip action at the USTA National Center. The afternoon session saw MHC shoulder a tough 4-3 loss to Division II Lees-McRae College. The Lyons are now 5-5 overall.

From three, seniors Joy Maran and Ayame Yazawa earned an 8-7 (7-5) decision over Elyse Smilnak and Claire Loughlin, while the Lyons captured the win from the first flight as junior Ching-Ching Huang and rookie Annissa Aamoum edged Natashia DeNunzio and Emily Kelly, 8-6.

Singles action saw Huang kick things off, putting the Lyons up 4-0 with a 6-4, 6-0 win against Jakubek. Maran gave MHC the clinching point at six with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Kristen Denniston. From three, Peabody earned a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kelly, while at one, Yazawa edged DeNunzio, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).

Scranton picked up its lone point at five as Stephanie Hoffman and Lyons senior captain Clara Wang battled. Hoffman won the opening set, 6-2, but Wang countered with a 6-1 win in the second. In the tiebreaker, Hoffman earned the edge with a 10-2 score. The Lyons wrapped up the match at four as Aamoum was victorious in three over Marissa Campo by a 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4) margin.

In the afternoon match, the Bobcats of Lees-McRae action began in the singles competition, which saw the teams tied 3-3. LMC got on the board first as Nursharneem Shamsudd posted a tough 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7) win against Huang. The Bobcats grabbed a 2-0 advantage as Zeynep Cakirer bested Peabody from three by a 6-0, 6-1 margin.

The Lyons bounced back as Aamoum defeted Rebecca Pierce, 6-1, 6-2, followed by another Lees-McRae win as Jaden Acklin bested Wang, 6-0, 6-3 at six. Mount Holyoke counted to tie the match as Gerasimova gutted out a 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6) win in a tiebreaker at four, while Yazawa earned a tiebreaking win of her own against Sandy Allen at one, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4).

In doubles action, Acklin and Pierce combined for a 6-3 win against Maran and Gerasimvoa at three, but the Lyons countered at two, tying the match at 4-all as Peabody and Aamoum defeated Mackenzie Langmade and Cakirer, 6-4. The match came down to the first doubles as Allen and Shamsudd and Huang and Yazawa squared off. It was a tough battle that saw the Bobcats duo best the Lyons' pair, 7-6 (8-7).

Mount Holyoke is off on Wednesday, but returns to action in Florida on Thursday, facing the University of Northwestern (MN) at 8am at the USTA Center.